Men’s Basketball Falls to VCU

BRONX, N.Y. - Charles Dickens, who was born on this day 154 years ago, once penned "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." That summed up tonight's men's basketball game for Fordham University as the home Rams played a solid first half before cooling down in the second and falling to the VCU Rams, 75-60, in an Atlantic 10 game in the Rose Hill Gym.
 
With the loss, Fordham falls to 10-13 overall, 4-6 in the Atlantic 10, while VCU improves to 15-8 overall, 7-3 in the conference.
 
Fordham was led by senior guard Japhet Medor who netted a game-high 17 points, shooting 4-for-8 from behind the arc, and he dished out three assists, while sophomore guard Will Richardson added 13 points, connecting on three three-pointers.
 
The home Rams trailed by just a point at the break, 32-31, thanks to a Richardson jumper just before the halftime buzzer, but the visiting Rams scored the first nine points of the second half to take a 41-31 lead 3:44 into the period.
 
A Medor jumper with 15:49 on the clock halted the VCU run and Fordham trailed by eight again with 14:44 remaining, 43-35, following an Abdou Tsimbila dunk but the visitors netted nine unanswered points to take a commanding 52-35 lead midway through the second half.
 
The closest Fordham would get the rest of the way was 12, 54-52, on a Medor three with 5:31 left.
 
Takeaways
• Will Richardson netted double figures for the 14th time this year, a team-high, while Medor recorded his 13th double-figure scoring game.
 
• Kyle Rose, who entered the game second in the Atlantic 10 in steals (2.0/game), recorded six steals in the game, tying his career-high.
 
• It was Rose's tenth game of three or more steals.
 
• Rose added five points and five assists (with no turnovers) to his six steals.
 
• Abdou Tsimbila, who had one block tonight, has blocked at least one shot in 20 of his 22 games this year.
 
• Over the past seven games, senior guard Antrell Charlton has 26 assists and only eight turnovers.
 
• Fordham committed just four turnovers in the first half but had eleven in the second.
 
• The game featured players on two extremes of college basketball with Fordham's Kyle Rose in his fifth year with the Rams while VCU's Joe Bamisile is playing for his fourth different team over the past four years.
 
By the Numbers
6 – Rebounds by Romad Dean, tying his career-high set earlier this year against Manhattan.
 
6 – Steals by Kyle Rose, matching his career-high set against FDU earlier this year.
 
10 – Steals by Fordham, the ninth double-digit steal game of the year for Fordham.
 
131 – Career games played by Kyle Rose, a school record.
 
147 – Career blocks for Abdou Tsimbila, sixth all-time at Fordham.
 
198 – Career steals for Kyle Rose, moving him into a tie for sixth on the Fordham career list.
 
What's Next?
• The Rams continue the 2024 Atlantic 10 season by hosting the St. Bonaventure University Bonnies in the historic Rose Hill Gym on Wednesday, February 14, at 7:00 p.m.
 
• It will be the 50th meeting between Fordham and St. Bo­naventure on the hardwood.
 
• The Bonnies lead the all-time series, which started in the 1955-56 season, 31-18 (two St. Bonaventure wins in 2002-03 were later forfeited for use of an ineligible player).
 
• The Rams have won three straight over the Bonnies, including this year's first meeting, 80-74, at St. Bonaventure on January 13 behind 19 points and seven rebounds from Kyle Rose and 16 points from Japhet Medor.